Michael Buble's crazy life

MICHAEL BUBLE is in a mischievous mood. “I need a pee break,” he says by way of introduction as he trots off laughing to the hotel bathroom in his skinny jeans, fitted jacket and skinny tie (which he insists he is wearing for a photo-shoot).

“Everybody pees!” he sings at the top of his voice to the tune of REM’s Everybody Hurts and bursts out laughing.

Although he is seen as Mr Smooth there is something distinctly rock and roll about Bublé. He has sold 50 million albums, won numerous awards including three Grammys and enjoys the odd beer while songwriting.

Indeed, a chat with the man with the voice of molten gold is like a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride: he is by turns playful and serious but most of all he is very, very funny. His genuine friendliness may go some way to explaining why he is so adored by so many. He is one of those artists in receipt of that very rare thing: cross-generational adoration.

I wanted to make a Phil Spector record. I wanted to make a Wall of Sound, Motown record.

Michael Buble

“Someone asked me how is it that I can appeal to a granddaughter, a daughter and a grandmother,” he says, “and I say, it’s because I am singing about love. It sounds cheesy but it’s true. Everyone has experiences of love.”

It is more than that, though. Bublé, 37, just oozes charisma. He can’t help it. His forthcoming album, To Be Loved, is, he says, about “love, happiness and fun”.

“I had a great time making it,” he says. “Family and friends came to the studio.” He sits next to me as he scrolls through his phone to find a photograph of the party that had descended on the recording.

“Please, don’t let there be naked photos,” he says then sees my face. “I’m jo-king!” His off-beat humour can, he admits, be misunderstood: “You try to be on guard but at the same time I hate censoring myself, I hate being boring.”

He finds the photo. “I would die if it was six months of recording without fun,” he says pointing out all the various people who came to see him while the album was being recorded.

“I called the studio the Pop Jazz Sweatshop. I wanted to make a Phil Spector record. I wanted to make a Wall of Sound, Motown record.”

The record includes a mix of such standards as You Make Me Feel So Young. There are also four original songs co-written by Bublé including a rocky number he wrote and performed with fellow Canadian Bryan Adams, and the charming duet with the actress Reese Witherspoon of the classic Frank and Nancy Sinatra song, Somethin’ Stupid.

Working with Reese was a career highlight for him. “She is so down to earth,” he says. “I got to work with a woman who is wanted by men all over the world and loved by women as well.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by women like that in my life. From my wife, to my mother and my ex, Emily [the actress Emily Blunt. They split in 2008 after three years together]. They are like that and it is so nice to see that they are attractive to both sexes.”

The title of this latest album could not be more apt as Bublé, by his own admission, has never been happier, and with good reason. In 2011 he married the beautiful Argentinian actress and model Luisana Lopilato, 25, and the couple are expecting their first child, a son, in August.

“When Lu told me she was pregnant it was the happiest day of my life,” he says.

He is already looking at how he will work in light of this new arrival. “I have made a great record and a big record but the things that I care about have definitely changed,” he says.

“I have pared down my tour schedule which is hell for my promoters and my management who are watching millions of dollars slip out the window but that’s how it has got to be.

“I have got to be happy in my personal life otherwise I am not going to be happy in my professional life.”

Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, to a salmon fisherman father, Bublé was out fishing professionally from the age of 14 before he hit the big time after years of graft. Is this what has given him his strong work ethic?

“I don’t know if it as much a strong work ethic as a hunger for success,” he says. “I think that I was so afraid to fail that I would have done anything. My mother once said that I was so lazy that I would work harder than anyone in the world so that I could be lazy again.”

He has suggested that he will take time off and maybe try his hand at films; he has already appeared in a couple of movies. Acting is, he says, part of what he does on stage (he is quite the mimic and does mean English, Spanish and South African accents).

“I say I am a stand-up comedian who sings,” he smiles. “The only reason I haven’t done it [made a film] is because of the time constraints. I think in the next couple of years I will take time off and start making movies.”

He may also find a base in London to add to their homes in Argentina, Vancouver and Los Angeles. “We both love London and holiday there. We are thinking about either Italy or London.”

When it comes to the discussion of work/family balance he refers to his friend, the comedian Peter Kay, as getting it right. “It’s family first and then everything else after that,” he says of Kay.

“I think it is easy to say but not easy to do, especially if you are an artist and you are insecure and you’re scared. Will it go away? With the kid coming I feel like I have even more in common with Peter and I have had really wonderful talks with him.”

Tackling the pressure of fame is also something of a challenge. “Fame sucks,” he says. “There is nothing good about it. Honestly.”

What does he miss? “Anonymity. Not being able to make mistakes. Someone is always waiting for you to **** up.”

He has toughened up a lot, however, and admits that regular therapy has helped him make sense of things.

“I love therapy,” he says. “I think the therapist helps me to be empathetic and a little more compassionate.”

Time apart from his wife, says Bublé, is never easy and the pair made a pact that when they were apart they would still have dates, so they Skype each other and fall asleep with the screens next to them.

It is more difficult for me than for her,” he says. “I think she is stronger that way. I am a hopeless and helpless romantic. I am not smooth, though. I am wearing make-up and I have had people dress me.

“I didn’t do my own hair. If this was me I would be wearing shorts, black socks and Birkenstocks. I sit with my wife and she says: ‘Mike, if they could see you now...’. I’m the goofy, romantic guy. I may not always get it right but I have the best intentions.”